It`s nice to have some useful GUI tools to keep your Linux system clean`n`clear. e.g. Ubuntu Tweak, which allows to remove browser cache (!and even old kernel packages!) with no headache even for newcomer.So, in my opinion the only piece of stuff which still lacks in Linux is a tool to prevent and control the file fragmentation.What members think `bout that?

Imhoteps wrote:It`s nice to have some useful GUI tools to keep your Linux system clean`n`clear. e.g. Ubuntu Tweak, which allows to remove browser cache (!and even old kernel packages!) with no headache even for newcomer.So, in my opinion the only piece of stuff which still lacks in Linux is a tool to prevent and control the file fragmentation.What members think `bout that?

[P.S. Please don`t start`bout "Windows habits", this is just a poll].

Normally you won't have to worry about defrag on a linux system here are a couple links that explain why. but basically the Linux file system is much different than Windows and does not access the drive the same way.

I've been wondering about defrag tools myself and this topic came at the perfect time! I am looking at BleachBit right now, and while it doesn't specifically mention defragging, the features it does mention seem pretty nice!

Still though, ex-Windows habits aside, I am finding it hard to accept that the Linux file-system is totally immune to fragmentation. Surely every OS would be copying the Linux file-system if this were really true?

It seems more like Viruses... is Linux totally immune to them? No. Is it much less likely to occur? Yes, but I would still like to have preventative measures.--Jim

I would very much like a defrag tool that runs on Linux as I need to share some of my main data partitions with Windows - i.e. they need NTFS. Also, many of us have FAT-formatted SD cards for cameras etc, and pen drives that are shared with Win computers.

For many reasons I prefer to keep my Win boots to an absolute minimum - I'd prefer to do defragging in Linux. However, I do accept that my own workflow is my problem!

Having a tool to easily defrag the hard drive in Mint would actually be a good idea. It would hardly be used since Linux file systems don't typically fragment that much if at all. However, it is not impossible for it to happen, so it'd be nice to keep on top of it on those rare occasions without having to go through a bunch of command line gruff.

You know I still haven't really found anything useful. I read about an app called shake-fs which requires the user to jump through a lot of hoops such as editing /etc/fstab

I also read about a shell script called defrag, which seems to only support ext2.

So it looks like no-one has updated the apps in a while.While it may be true that Linux file-systems don't fragment very much, they will need to be defragmented eventually, and fraxinus_63 brings up a valid point about sharing a Windows file-system.

I have a multi-Terabyte backup drive which I share with Windows, formated in NTFS, and I can not rely on the Windows users to defrag it for me on a regular basis. I don't even see them every day, but changing the file-system now is not an option because there is a lot of backup data on the drive. And it is often written to, Gigabytes at a time. It needs to be maintained, and I would like to be able to defrag it via my own Linux system.

The problem with any defragmentation tool in any OS is the fact that only a newly formatted drive can be considered completely defragged, that is 0% fragmentation--hence its new state..

If it gives anyone any comfort to believe that defragmentation helps their OS by perhaps speeding, then OK, use a defrag tool

Otherwise I consider it pretty much useless--and I pick the second option, Linux doesn't need it, nor in fact does windows OS of the later versions; this is a holdover and third party branding to promote products that may or may not be much use to anyone--there used to be a memory management software for dos/windows that claimed to improve the operation of those OS: they pretty much turned out to be fantasies in terms of performance..

I agree with DrHu. Defragmentation tools are not needed on modern file systems (and modern hardware). Fragmentation occurs though, but its impact is very negligible.

Indeed, unless your use any version of FAT or early releases of NTFS, you don't have to defrag anything because access times, read/write speeds, buffers and caches on today's devices and computers combined with modern file systems performances completely override the need for it.

Why do modern versions of Windows still include a defrag app then? They aren't making money from it, and it's not just a carry over because they did update it from XP to Vista/7. It must have some purpose.

Are you absolutely certain that it doesn't do something more than just optimize for speed?

RJim wrote:I've been wondering about defrag tools myself and this topic came at the perfect time! I am looking at BleachBit right now, and while it doesn't specifically mention defragging, the features it does mention seem pretty nice!

Still though, ex-Windows habits aside, I am finding it hard to accept that the Linux file-system is totally immune to fragmentation. Surely every OS would be copying the Linux file-system if this were really true?

It seems more like Viruses... is Linux totally immune to them? No. Is it much less likely to occur? Yes, but I would still like to have preventative measures.--Jim

It's hard to but you're gonna have to let go. I remember well the satisfaction of seeing a fully defragmented hard drive on your Windows 2000 or XP system, but it is not necessary in ext3/4. There will be extreme simultaneous multi-write scenarios where fragmentation can occur, but it is extremely rare and even that wouldn't noticeably slow down performance.

I can foresee many new Linux users going back to Windows simply because they need the auslogics defrag fix, or the registry cleaner fix, or need to constantly monitor what Avast is detecting

Thank you for this thread. That’s all I can say. You most definitely have made this forum into something special. You clearly know what you are doing, you’ve covered so many bases. Thanks!